Thread: Allow Me to Brag: My New Website!

Ladies and gents, I'd like to take a moment and brag about my new website:

Carrara Nour | Professional Bellydancer in Connecticut (CT)

This is hot off the press, just launched 10 minutes ago! And I couldn't be any happier with the results.

My web guy, Brian Feister (DreamStar Studios | Web, Graphic, & Identity Design Studio | Photoshop, CSS, xHTML, & Web Design Blog) is a genius. When I first started shopping around for a web designer, I was pretty sure that my ideal website was something of a tall order. I wanted something that would help me stand out in a small, competitive market and also the capability to integrate all of my social networks onto one platform, and update my galleries at my own leisure, as I'm always on photo shoots. Brian helped me to achieve these objectives and way more - and was totally fun and easygoing to work with, to boot!

The end result is soooooooooo user-friendly, which is key for an idiot savant like myself. Doing my own photo gallery updates is as simple as updating a Flickr gallery. And my tweets and blog entries are so prominent, how can you not want to "follow" me?

I really hope you love my website. After 3 years of doing everything word of mouth, it sure will feel good to let my shiny new website do all the talking.

And if you want a site that's as functional as it is gorgeous, I can't say enough great things about Brian and DreamStar Studios.

Enjoy!

wowwwwwww love that pic at the top. gorgeous!!
i like the style of the website. nice and clean, easy to find things.

btw, if u ever wanna sell that aquamarine set (tony & robbie i believe), u know who to PM ;)

oh and another thing i liek about the website, ur personality really shows through. makes it really 'you' and unique. not a cookie cutter site :)

I agree with zfejzic. I love that I get a sense of who you are on your website. I think it makes you very approachable; good marketing tactic. And I'm sure you've heard this a million times, but your photos are incredible. You pay attention to the finest of details. It makes me feel that I don't doubt you would put on a good show. Very nicely done. CONGRATS!!!

Thanks, guys!

I'm glad you picked up on the "me" factor, because that's what I was going for. I wanted audiences to feel like my BFF by the time they're done with my site, and to establish a sense of camaraderie and trust from the get-go.

We BDers are in a funny spot - we're not really a product or a service, but a personality. Some sites miss valuable opportunities for intimacy and connection. I wanted my site to be a little more cozy, less disembodied, and more vivacious.

Glad you like it!

yes that too. a lot of details. i can't imagine what other questions a client would need after thoroughly reading ur site :)
and clear out ur inbox! lol

You've gotta be flippin' kidding me - WHY is my inbox always full? LOL.

I love how you give me the heads-up before you're about to PM me. You know me too well. LOLOLOL

Cleaned for you, baby! PM away!

LOL i have a feeling we'll get along splendid when u come to FL :)

I'd totally be your BFF, IRL. ..g.:

I'll let you know when I plan to start scoping the area out. We'll have to hook up!

I think it is fantastic. Very clean and easy to understand. I have two pieces of nit-picky observations, but PM if you want to know.

PM'ed ya!

ah, it's really pretty! really soft, soothing colors and I love your down-to-earth verbage!

Thanks! The colors remind me of those pastel candy-coated almonds you only see at weddings. LOL.

And I've been a little on the fence about the down-to-earth verbiage. Glad that you think it works. My brand itself is high-end, but also fanciful and fun. It can be difficult to show your "life of the party" side without sounding too conversational.

Great thing is, if I have to make copy revisions, I can dive right in and do it in 2 seconds, since my site is powered by the wonderful WordPress!

WOW! I looooove your website. It's gorgeous! I really love the colors and your home page! Very nicely done :)

Congratulations, that's beautiful! I love the 'are you human?' spam protection question. Tee hee.

I've just met up with a web designer to re-do my website. It's exciting stuff to think about...no doubt until I get the quote!

I love the look, ease of use, all the gorgeous photos and the wording - especially "You might buy your flip flops at Wal-Mart, but you’ll pay a premium for a great pair of strappy stilettos to wear out on the town." Great job!
Shannon

I applaud your decision to put rates on your site! good job -

Wonderful job!! It looks fantastic, you look beautiful and you manage to balance "super cool chic" with "top of the line high end". Bravo!!

I especially love the color design - like a bright sunshiny day, you can't help but let the sunshine in, babee!

absolutely gorgeous..i love that you can download your contract right from the site...very good thinking

pics are stunning:)

Loved the site too:) It was very well done and did make me feel like I knew you just from surfing around.

I like your site alot. Love the color choices. BEAUTIFUL!!

Spell out the pronucniation of your dance name P-A-L-E-A-S-E. I'm not that smart.

I like the quip from someone asking if he's in an American Express commercial! ..l;,..l;,

Wow, muchos thanks for all the website-love, everyone!

Ha! Fotia, I'm glad you enjoyed the AmEx quip as much as I did.

I ALMOST included the following testimonial, from a drunk restaurant patron, but chickened out:

"You're the greatest thing since M.C. Hammer!"

Maybe I'll write a blog of reject testimonials that didn't make it .w.:

And Michelle, it's pronounced like "Carr-ER-a Noor." Don't feel like an idiot - I find most bellydance names to be tongue twisters, including my own ,r:;

Satin - what an awesome site! I am working on a revamp of my own right now too. Yours looks beautiful! And the photography is stunning!

Beautiful, clean, friendly. I'd hire you!

Satin - very beautiful, but when I opened it what I saw was just the picture and nothing else. That giant photo pushes all your content down below the fold and some might think your site is just plain broken. Not everybody browses with a full-screen window... I literally thought it was a splash screen and tried to click on it to get past it.

I used to test websites for a living, and this is just plain not a good idea -- it's poor usability.

Originally Posted by tigerb

Satin - very beautiful, but when I opened it what I saw was just the picture and nothing else. That giant photo pushes all your content down below the fold and some might think your site is just plain broken. Not everybody browses with a full-screen window... I literally thought it was a splash screen and tried to click on it to get past it.

I thought the same thing - I clicked all over before I figured out that I needed to scroll down for the menu.

Hmmm. Interesting feedback on the size of the header graphic.

I will see if this causes any issues moving forward. If so, I'll consider seeing if I can get it resized at some point. I thought it was pretty obvious that you're supposed to scroll down.